9/19/1997 @ 12:00PM

Blood on the snow

Think Christmas is about peace on earth and goodwill toward men? Forget about it. For two heavyweight Japanese companies, the holiday season rings in engineered hardware shortages, surprise announcements and slick advertisements in a bare-knuckled, head-to-head marketing contest. The prize: global dominance in the $12 billion (total est. 1998 sales) home videogame market.

The battle for Christmas this year–a rematch of last year’s contest– pits reigning champion Sony and its 32-bit PlayStation machine against Nintendo’s technically superior 64-bit “N64″ console. Sony enjoys a substantial lead in all the most vital areas (installed base, software price and availability) but it would be a mistake to underestimate Nintendo and its hotshot yearling machine.

Nintendo launched its N64 last September and quickly moved its precision hype machine into overdrive. By mid-November four-foot tall inflatable “Mario” dolls and N64 demos dominated Christmas displays in toy stores and Wal-Marts across the country. Next Generation magazine, a rag devoted to videogame fanatics, named N64′s first title, Super Mario Brothers 64 the “best videogame of all time.” Mainstream media outlets drooled over the graphics generated by the Silicon Graphics chipset in the toylike machine.

Then, in another classic move from Nintendo’s playbook, the company engineered a hardware shortage (the company has always denied the charge). Every kid in America wanted an N64, but it was simply impossible to buy one. The pyramids of N64 boxes sitting on store floors were empty, supplied for promotional purposes only. Perceived scarcity just fueled the fire more. A man in North Carolina had his apartment robbed and the thief passed over jewelry and cash taking only an N64.

Undoubtedly the plan was that the shortage would magically evaporate a few frenzied weeks before December 25. But disaster struck: Unable to meet the frenzied demand the company’s marketing machine had whipped up, Nintendo’s perceived shortage became a real one. N64 machines were generally unavailable, even in major metropolitan markets like New York City, until February. Desperate for their fix, Christmas shoppers bought PlayStations instead.

In retrospect it seems a blessing. Developers have been very slow in releasing software for the N64–a full year after its introduction there are only a measly 27 games available for the machine. Even worse, many of the currently available titles don’t even look as good, or play as well, as their 32-bit cousins. Particularly horrible games have included Cruisin’ USA, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

And while developers have been slow to utilize N64′s horsepower, PlayStation developers are tweaking their 32-bit code until it does magic the hardware guys never expected. The PlayStation’s CD-ROMs also allow for much larger games than Nintendo’s cartridges (the tradeoff is speed) and Sony’s large developer community has relentlessly pushed the envelope. The best PlayStation titles, like NFL Gameday ’98, Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy VI have every bit as much eyecandy and better gameplay than the top N64 titles.

The software gap makes calling this year’s battle a cinch. Kids aren’t dumb and they demand great games. Sony should own 1998.